Tightly Wound
by xmaspterodactyl
Summary: Orange paint isn't healthy for the epidermis. - A challenge from another board/site, completed back in October of 2011. Note: Also using this as a test in how to use this posting system.


Her knee was scrapped. She had two abrasions on her pale face. The day had been a whirlwind of emotions and beat downs and camaraderie at its finest. And in the end, for the first time she could remember, this was the best December that Annie Edison ever had. Just a year before, she'd been in a rehab clinic to her mother's disappointment and her father's lack of knowledge to her problems. Her memories were still fuzzy around this time a year ago, but she had broken her addiction and had been clean for a year.

Annie hadn't stayed long after the singing of seasonal neutral songs. She'd enjoyed some food (Abed's being an interesting taste, but surprisingly enjoyable), educated the group about her holiday, and left with a smile on her face. She told herself she should have gone to the campus clinic and seen Nurse Jackie. But they'd charge a fee, and she was tight on money this month with the recent spike in gas prices.

Yet gas wasn't an issue as her mind settled on making a stop this cool, snowless Colorado evening. And her instincts took her to the rehab clinic. Annie felt her heart warm up a little as she approached the gates. The simple, horizontal wooden bar blocked her little car, and one of the security guards stepped out from the booth.

"Hey Carlos, Doctor Jen in?" Carlos chuckled at the inside joke of the facility.

"Doc Jennings is still around. I keep telling him to go home, but he's burning the midnight oil. He's got a big heart."

"I know. Mind if I stop by?"

"Annie, I never reject a former patient. We're all family here, and you know that." He raised the barrier, and waved her through.

"Have a Merry Christmas, Carlos!" She smiled warmly at the guard, who saluted in return.

The drive up the wooded road always made her feel at home. It was a natural fence separating the patients from a cruel world they were no longer able to function in. The hospital had paid for a cab to take her to the facility, with instructions to the cabbie to take Annie to the door. The nurses and clinic employees were waiting for them both on arrival, seating the young brunette in a wheelchair.

She pulled into one of the visitor spots and killed the motor. Snow was falling lightly, officially starting the true winter season (you can't have a proper winter without snow, after all). She sat in the car for a minute, before grabbing a light jacket and stepping into the chill. It had been creeping in already, despite the heater going at full blast furnace levels. She'd have to find some cheap weather stripping soon.

* * *

Doctor Jennings was studying reports when the knock on the door startled the older man. It'd been a long day, with two addicts heavily sedated to avoid wild outbursts. Jennings was finishing his notes, having looked for drug interactions with the sedatives when the knob turned and a dainty figure slipped in.

"I remember your first day here, you know." The girl gingerly sat on the couch, removing the coat. In the light, the physician saw the various scrapes and tut-tutted. "I see you've had some recent rough-housing."

"And I had a perfectly good reason."

"Do tell." He thought for a moment, and then grabbed a medical kit from a bookshelf to the right of the large desk.

Annie cleared her throat, smiling to herself. "Well, a friend of mine from Spanish class stuck up for another person in the group. This…bully was absolutely insane. He actually stapled a snowman to his forehead." The doctor sat on the couch, putting the kit between them and taking out supplies to clean the scuff on her forehead. "Ow! I forgot how much that stings."

"So how did you get these abrasions, Ms. Edison?" He continued cleaning the wounds, prompting her.

"There was a fight at the bike racks." Her host's eyebrow rose sharply. "I know! But it's Greendale. So there was a fight at the bike racks, and my Study Group decided to back Jeff up."

"Jeff is the young man from debate?"

Her cheeks reddened and her eyes were bashful. "Yeah."

"And that still doesn't explain the reason why you're coming to me for a patch job."

"So Jeff started the fight, and the bully's back-up started showing off. As Abed would say, he's the bullied person Jeff stood up for, we bum rushed them. In the rush, I got pushed to the ground and skinned my knee."

"And your forehead?" She mumbled to herself, Jennings unable to hear. "Annie, what did we talk about? You and I can talk about anything."

"I know. I tripped on a candy cane." He snorted, a big grin on his face. "In my defense, I found the fake snow sprayer and held off the back-up dancers."

"Dancers?"

"You heard correctly."

"Sounds rather…silly."

"Yeah, _Riverdance_ silly." The doctor finished cleaning the injuries, and pulled out a final bottle. She couldn't place the smell as he pulled out the applicator and spread it on her scrapes. He was done in moments. "Wow! They're gone, how'd you do that?"

"It's a secret." She yawned at that moment. Jennings nodded at the young woman. "The guest room is empty tonight. Go ahead and make yourself at home."

"You're sure it's no problem?" He was proud of Annie, always thinking of others, sometimes too much.

"It's fine. Run along now, I'll be over in awhile with some tea and cookies." Her smile was infectious. Kurt Jennings couldn't help but reciprocate as she opened the door and walked out of the office towards the proffered room. She would always have a home here.

* * *

_16 months later_

Jeff's eyebrow rose when he got a good look at the orange woman; actually, he really got a good look at her after the disaster of an End of Year Picnic. The girl was covered in paint, save for her face, and he was regretting that he was giving her a ride to her apartment. He rolled his eyes when he looked at Abed and Annie who were saying goodbye to each other. Leaning against his Lexus (which he'd parked as far away as possible to avoid any dents, and thankfully any stray paintballs), Jeff felt the twinge of jealousy when she planted a kiss on Abed's cheek. Abed for his part, stood stoic, cocking his head then nodded. Winger turned away from them, watching a few cars roll by.

"I'm ready."

"Took you long enough." He unlocked the driver's side door and climbed in. Starting the engine, his passenger pulled on the door handle which did not open on the first try. Her voice was muffled, and she knocked on the window to get his attention. The power window came down and she had her hands on her hips. "Promise you're completely dry." he hollered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jeff shrugged. "It means if you're not, you're paying to get my seat cleaned."

"The paint is dry Jeff, just let me in!" He wasn't completely serious; he just wanted to razz her a bit before the drive home. Jeff wouldn't have this opportunity again for the rest of the summer. The door unlocked, she climbed in, and then stuck her tongue out at him.

"Is that a promise?"

"Gross." Companionable, awkward silence; for five minutes, they drove without a word being said. He wasn't going to bring up why she was kissing Abed, and he honestly didn't want to know why. His mind wandered, going blank while paying minimal attention to the road. And his mind wandered onto thoughts of Annie's clean outfit from the night before. She was showing a generous amount of leg, and he glanced at her shapely legs that teased him from the corner of his eye. He had a mile to go before reaching Dildopolis, and his mind focused.

She was twitching. Jeff heard the leather creak slightly, and it was increasing at a quick pace.

"You okay there?" Annie turned to him, he to her and he was almost horrified at what he saw. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the iris' were almost black. The dramatic change alarmed him.

Her head was twitching now, and he was officially worried. "Jeff, take me to Riverside."

"The clinic? Why there?"

"I need to go there now! Please!" Her breathing was becoming gasps for air.

"What about the-"

Annie's body was beginning to shake. "Please!" She was pleading with him. It was more than enough. His irrational mind hit the break and spun the wheel around, cars honking behind and in front of him as he ground his foot on the gas pedal and took off. The V8 roared as he passed car after the car. The route now burned into his mind, he looked at Annie to see how she was doing. The young woman was shaking horribly, despite wearing a seat belt.

"Just hold on! We're almost there." He saw the turnoff and rounded the corner with turn only a driver truly in synch with their vehicle could make. And he was killing the brakes and tires. Winger didn't care. It was Annie he was doing this for.

The guard post wasn't a priority. The gate was down, and he did the only sensible thing he could do.

It splintered into a thousand pieces as he rammed the car through, mindless of the scuffs to the paint job. Jeff pulled up to the double doors, where two rather large, rather muscular orderlies stood, guarded the entrance. His mind still racing, he threw the car door open and sprinted around the Lexus. He yanked open the passenger door, unclicked the seat belt from around the writhing girl, and pulled her out.

"Help me! I don't know what's wrong with her?" One of the orderlies strode forward and looked at the prone form, his eyes bulging in recognition.

"Jack, call Jennings, tell him it's Alpha Echo in a code red state." 'Jack' dashed through the doors, while the first man attempted to take the small girl from Jeff. But Jeff refused to let go. "Sir, I can handle her." Jeff shook his head in a negative, a hard look in his eye and his jaw clenched. "Follow me to the emergency room than."

Jeff Winger was dumbstruck. What was going on?

* * *

An older man with brownish-gray hair was already in the room with several machines, waiting for the two men.

"On the table Mr. Winger. Jack, I need the 220 cable ready for power as quickly as possible. Carlos, grab the electrodes and hook her up to the life support system. Mr. Winger, I have to ask you to-"

"Don't. Even. Dare."

Jennings sighed, knowing he shouldn't be doing this. It was against every rule and protocol he'd established. "Fine, but you stand over there," the doctor pointed towards the foot of the bed, "and don't say a fucking word."

Winger, for the first time in his life, followed a physician's orders.

"Oh, and Mr. Winger, you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will kill you. Slowly." Jennings pressed his hands to Annie's head, moving the fingers around in her hair until he felt a small, slight sting in his finger.

Annie's forehead suddenly slid out of her skull, and Jeff almost fainted. He watched, horrified as Jennings and Carlos attached several wires to whatever was going on with her head. He tried to angle around to see what was happening, but Orderlie Jack grimaced and shook his head. Winger stepped back.

"Carlos, what's the reading."

"EEG shows Alpha Echo's body is stabilizing. EKG shows elevated levels dropping to norms. We're go for shut down."

"Is her matrix transferred?"

Jack looked at a flat screen monitor and nodded in ascent. "She's in the system. We're good to go."

Kurt Jennings glanced at Jeff, and then back to Annie, murmuring two words to Annie's prone form. "I'm sorry." His hand went to her neck, grasping it, then titled her head to the side and pressed on one of the vertebrae. Annie stopped breathing, stopped moving, and the monitors flat lined.

"What the fuck did you do!" Carlos lunged at Winger, seizing the tall man and throwing them both to the ground. His prediction was correct. He flipped Jeff over on the floor, putting both of the former lawyer's hands behind his back. From his pocket, Carlos grabbed a zip tie and bound Jeff's wrists. More expletives left his mouth, and Jeff struggled against his captors.

Carlos let up on Jeff, then stood and walked back over to the table Annie lay on. Jennings came into view, with a syringe in hand.

"Jeff, I have Annie's best intentions at heart, you'll have to trust me." The needle was plunged into a vein, and he felt the burn of the fluid enter his blood stream. "We'll take care of her; rest now."

Darkness overtook him.

* * *

Jeff awoke with a start. It was dark, and he sat up bringing a hand to his head. He felt a satin like material over his eyes, and he pulled off the blinders from his head. The room was dimly lit, but he could see it was well appointed. At least his captors had style. He'd seen movies like this, and despite the nonchalant attitude even he was concerned this would turn into a _Saw_ or _Hostel_ situation.

"You're awake." The door opened and in walked the man who'd seemingly killed Annie Edison. Jeff wanted to jump out of the bed and tear the man's heart from his chest. How dare he take her life! How dare he take his Annie!

"I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch." His legs weren't working. Jeff was sitting in a bed, unable to move his legs, and becoming more and more agitated.

"I expected that. Jeff, I know what you're thinking right now-"

"You have no fucking clue what I'm thinking right now."

"Whatever you think since Annie came to this facility, I've had her best interests at all times. She's special, in many ways. But I've seen such amazing things since she started at Greendale. For the first time in her life, she's found true friends. You have no idea what that means to me.

"What I'm about to tell you, I've just gotten done telling her. In her best interests, I implore you to keep an open mind and remember that she is still Annie." Jennings raised the lights, letting his guests eyes adjust. "I only ask that you keep your questions to a minimum while I tell you this. After that, if you still want to punch me, I'll let you."

Jeff shrugged, he had no other choice. "What's going on?"

"A logical question. Annie Edison came to us on a cold December afternoon, days before Hanukkah and Christmas. She came voluntarily, which is rare for any person suffering from addiction. Her first week at this facility, as for most of our patients with drug addictions, was what you would call a living hell. Annie could not differentiate between reality and fantasy. Sadly, we have not escaped padded rooms and straight jackets. It broke my heart to see this young girl with no support system throw herself against the walls one minute and sedately rolling on the floor the next."

His legs were starting to come around, but the tale of Annie Edison had him fascinated.

"We let her out of the room on the first day of Hanukkah. She had responded to our starting treatments. I could tell she was a vibrant young woman, who wanted nothing more than a normal life. God I was so full of hope for her. She was opening up to the other patients. Her group sessions were working wonderfully.

"And on Christmas morning, we found she'd somehow slit her wrists. I called the medical team, and we moved her to the emergency room. She was bleeding out quickly. Annie was pale, more so than you have ever seen. Her skin was ashen, her pulse weak."

Winger was silent. It was sinking in that now, he knew nothing of her past or her demons. He couldn't say anything. He had to hear everything before he could break this man's neck.

Jennings took a sip of the coffee he'd brought in with him. "I've seen this time and again Jeff. I've seen too many kids slip away, that I couldn't take it anymore. So I did the only thing I could do. I copied her mind."

"You what?"

"Carlos Sauder came to me years ago with a proposal I was unsure of. But at that moment that Annie slipped away, I made the decision to save her, in a sense. See, Carlos Sauder holds several PhDs in Engineering. Jack Cohen is an MIT Computer Science professor with contract work from Sun and Microsoft. They had approached me with a once in a lifetime opportunity. Something we all vowed to only do once. Annie Edison died on an operating room table on December 25th, 2008. She came online December 26th, and achieved self-awareness on the 28th."

"What did you do Jennings?"

"Simply put, the Annie Edison you know is also Alpha Echo. I took her brain pattern and digitized it. I then installed the artificial intelligence into a body of the same specifications of a healthy Annie Edison."

Jeff could wiggle his toes. This mad scientist would die soon. "You kept this from her, didn't you?"

"We didn't think the AI would be able to take the shock of discovering its origins. And didn't risk it, until today."

"I bet she took that just swimmingly."

Jennings shrugged. "Annie's matrix has evolved. We have no clue how it will develop."

"She's an actual robot?"

"No. She's a young woman who is handling unusual circumstances. Her body will age. She will age. Annie Edison will never have children, but she's as close to human as science can make her."

His knee jerked. Closer to his objective. "I tackled her, I picked her up. She's lighter then a robot."

"Her body is proprietary designs, materials and constructions. I won't go into details, you'd never understand."

"So is she going to go crazy and kill people now?" Jeff snarked. Kurt shook his head.

"Annie's an AI. When I say evolved, I mean evolved beyond the normal rules. She may be an AI, but she's a literal copy of Annie's mind. Annie doesn't worry about following the rules of robotics. She socked you one pretty good if I recall. Nose still hurt?"

"My pride mostly."

"There is a reason I'm telling you this." Jennings took another sip of his drink. "She loves you. And I can see you love her." Winger was silent. "She tells me everything Jeff, I'm a confidant. Her mother is a Grade A Bitch, Annie needs an outlet."

A tone rang, and Jeff was about ready to spring his amazingly deadly attack against the doctor when a slip of a woman peeked her head in. It was Annie. Kurt Jennings motioned for her to enter, which she did timidly.

"You two have much to talk about. Pick up the courtesy phone if you need anything."

The doctor closed the door behind him, and the young woman simply stood there, Disney eyes at full power. Garnering his strength, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood.

And he started falling. His master plan would have failed. He closed his eyes, resigning himself to a face plant when he suddenly felt her body steady him. 'Annie' was wearing a red blouse and pencil skirt, and felt the softness of her arms as she supported his weight. Her hands were warm, her cheeks blushed. Was this really possible? Jeff's mind reeled. She sat him back on the bed rather handily.

"I didn't…I didn't know." Winger gazed into her baby blue eyes. Were they real, was anything about her real? "I'm dropping out of classes this fall."

"No, you're not." They sat for several minutes, neither of them saying a word, just staring at each other.

Finally, she spoke. "You hate me. I can see it. You won't want anything to do with me. And you'll tell the group, and Abed will think of me as a prop for his movies, and Shirley will say I'm a machine who has no soul and Pierce will think I'm a sex doll," she pierced him with her stare, "yes I know what those are, I live over a marital aid store. But you're all going to hate me and leave me." Jeff shook his head, clearing his mind. The 'thing' in front of him was babbling incoherently, and this was normal. And this was par for the course.

He grabbed both of her arms, and held her in place. "Annie, that's not going to happen."

"Jeff! I'm a freak! I'm not real! I'm just a machine." She was right of course. There was no Annie. There was only Alpha Echo.

But this wasn't a machine. Machines were cold and emotionless. This wasn't the case. This was his Annie.

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"Goddammit Annie, I wouldn't be here if I didn't care about you. And I don't give a shit what you are. You're Annie Edison. You're 20 years old, you're a recovering addict, and you're the top student at Greendale."

"It's all a lie."

"It's not! Now shut up for a moment." Jeff let go one of her arms, and moved the other hand to her face, cupping it. "I know you're scared. But you're Annie Edison. You're the same Annie Edison who took on Pierce with righteous fury; the same Annie Edison who fell in love with Abed's 'Han Solo' act and chased a drama professor through a blanket fort." She was tearing up, a drop falling down her cheek, and his thumb wiped it away. "We'll get through this. We got through Spanish together. We got through paintball together. And we'll get through this together."

Winger could see the conflict in her, the being in front of him attempting to figure everything out. Her confusion wasn't lost on him; the way she looked while solving a difficult problem or when she committed herself to a cause.

"What do I do now?"

"We go to my place, we make you comfortable, and we talk about everything. I want to know you, the real Annie Edison."

"But am I the real one?"

"Only a real person could ever give me as many chances as I've had."

Indecision crossed her face. "Why are you so okay with this? Why don't you hate me?"

"Because you're my friend, you've been there for me." He chuckled. "After all we've been through, you're more human than anyone I know. Besides this is just more Greendale weirdness. And we're not going to say anything to anyone until you're ready."

Annie touched the hand that held her cheek. She in turn brought a gentle hand to his face. He knew she was real. She was flesh and blood, despite her origin. Jeff kissed the hand, softly uttering his term of endearment to her.

"Milady?"

And she smiled that dazzling Annie smile. "Milord."


End file.
